Orange Lake West Village (0670)

I have a 24 hr hold on a 2 BR in this resort for next April. I understand the resort is huge, which I take to mean that it would be difficult to use facilities in another part of the resort. I've read good things about the River Island part of the resort, but I'm not sure about West Village, which I believe is the first phase?

We'll be taking our little granddaughter to Disney (and of course her parents too ;-)) While at the resort, it would be nice to be able to use the kiddie facilities, i.e. Splash Lagoon and River Island. Would this be practical from the West Lake area? Of course we'll have a car, but just 1 car for the 5 of us. So if we'd have to drive to these facilities, it would greatly detract. I'm already on the fence, since they only had a Sunday checkin, and I wanted Saturday...

Edited to add: Can anyone point me to a map of the resort?

Blues said:

I have a 24 hr hold on a 2 BR in this resort for next April. I understand the resort is huge, which I take to mean that it would be difficult to use facilities in another part of the resort. I've read good things about the River Island part of the resort, but I'm not sure about West Village, which I believe is the first phase?

We'll be taking our little granddaughter to Disney (and of course her parents too ;-)) While at the resort, it would be nice to be able to use the kiddie facilities, i.e. Splash Lagoon and River Island. Would this be practical from the West Lake area? Of course we'll have a car, but just 1 car for the 5 of us. So if we'd have to drive to these facilities, it would greatly detract. I'm already on the fence, since they only had a Sunday checkin, and I wanted Saturday...

Edited to add: Can anyone point me to a map of the resort?

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You can use any part of the resort and yes, driving may be advisable. Also, until 2009, it has been reported that the West Village designation can be either the original West Village, North Village, or the East Village. The resort also has shuttles that you can use. Your granddaughter will love Splash Lagoon and there is a renovation going on with the West Village pool complex but I don't know if it will be ready by next April or not but it sounds likes your granddaughter would enjoy it as well.

just a caution

My son and DIL were just at West Lake a couple of weeks ago with their 2yr old son. The biggest problem they had was with cleaning. The unit had dead cockroaches on the floor, layers of dust on the a/c unit and over the doors - they said the unit looked like maybe it hadn't been used for a while (?) - it was a villa... they called three times to get someone to come clean up the cockroaches... they vacuumed it themselves... and finally told them not to stir up any more dust, they tried not to let it ruin their vacation...

Yuck! Is that common at OLCC, or was it a one-time deal? Born2Travel, you're making me want to cancel the 24 hr hold. Any other OLCC people out there? The place has a high rating on TUG reviews, though on re-reading, I see that there have been other people with cleanliness problems in their unit.

Hmmm, I'm gonna have to consider whether I want to trade here...

Blues said:

Yuck! Is that common at OLCC, or was it a one-time deal? Born2Travel, you're making me want to cancel the 24 hr hold. Any other OLCC people out there? The place has a high rating on TUG reviews, though on re-reading, I see that there have been other people with cleanliness problems in their unit.

Hmmm, I'm gonna have to consider whether I want to trade here...

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will not be too long before there might be an avid defense presented for OLCC

"cleanliness just cannot be a problem at our resort since it is so 'absolutely' well maintained"


seems to be a common theme ..........( wearing orange colored glasses are a pre requisite, of course )




we own there too...and there is no excuse for what has been described by born2travel, they should have escalated their concerns beyond the front desk/housekeeping....the fees paid in maintenance should preclude this from happening as a substantial portion is consumed by "cleaning" in the annual report from the HOA....heck even the process of checking in costs 75$ ~ as that is the cost listed on the break out of fees related to "front desk services" ....do not have the costing of the "housekeeping" at hand but will check more closely this year

when we called about the conditions of our unit a few years ago ( brother in law used it for new years and found wrappers around the couch and hair in the drains etc ), they thanked us for calling and said they were going to talk to the supervisor of the "outside" company that provided the cleaning ....of course, we never heard back .....so unless things have changed ....the cleaning is OUTSOURCED

I would agree that the condition described should not be allowed to happen. In the roughly 20 times that I have been at the resort, the units have always been clean.

Another owner piping in. I have never had such a problem as Orange Lake, though I know others have. Unfortunately, I am not surprised given the size of the resort - I have had similar issues at other large resorts (including some with names which would suggest it would never happen).

I would consider it excusable if the maintenance staff responded immediately to resolve the problem, but obviously that did not happen. If it were to happen to me, I would call repeatedly until something was done, or even visit the maintenance department.

As for the original question - yes, it is a large resort, and you might want the car to get places. But if you go to a smaller resort you will need to drive off-site for similar amenities, and pay for them.

As mentioned above, the West Village resort code represents the first 4 phases of the resort until 2009, which could be West Village, North Village, or East Village.

About the Villages:

West Village - the original development. The first of these units were built 25 years ago, and have recently gone through major refurbishment. Aside from the actual structure, these units will be like new. Most of these units are golf villas, strung around the West Village golf courses - 1 or 2 story buildings with parking in front of the units. Some are 3-5 story buildings near the front of the property - these areas have their own small pools in a shared courtyard. This village also includes the Tennis Villas, which are right next to the clubhouse (including the only West Village 3BR units), and the Clubhouse Studios (inside the clubhouse, and the only studios at OLCC - except perhaps lockoff studios in RI).

The West Village Clubhouse is being remodedled along with the units. The original Olympic swimming pool is being replaced, I belive with a zero-entry pool, which should be popular among those with young children. Once that is complete, this should be a popular gathering area (not as popular as River island, perhaps, but where most activities are likely to take place).

North Village - home of Splash Lagoon. These units are the second phase. Similar to West Village, but on a smaller scale. Most of these units should be a fairly easy walk to Splash Lagoon, the activity complex within North Village.

East Village - the newest units other than River Island. These are multiple story buildings, clustered around smaller pools. While they are father away from the Activities in West Village, they are the closest of the first 3 phases to River Island. The walk to RI from these units shouldn't be difficult.

Given that you are talking about April, and the only unit available is a Sunday Check-in, that would suggest to me that you're looking at a major school vacation week. If that is the case, I would personally prefer West Village (actually I prefer it anyway), due to crowds. The advantage with the spread out areas is the ability to get away from those crowds, which you will already be experiencing at Disney.

Thanks everyone. I've cancelled the hold on this unit. It was not just the reports of dirty units and bugs, which can happen anywhere. It was partially that there were multiple reports of this with no action from the staff.

But mostly, it just sounds like too big a development for what we're looking for. As noted, we'll have just one car for 4 adults and one kid. Frequently, the parents (my stepson & DIL) will want to take off, and we'll happily want to take the granddaughter -- swimming, playground, etc. This doesn't sound tenable at this resort.

I had been trying to rescue HGVC points that were moved forward from 2006 into 2007, and will expire at then end of this year. Doing an RCI trade would allow me to use them. I've decided to book the HGVC International Drive, which will use my 2007 HGVC points (moved into 2008). I'll have to find something else to do with the 2006 points moved into 2007. But in making and then cancelling this transaction from HGVC to RCI, I learned something new. I can move those 2006 HGVC points into RCI, and then have 2 more years to use them. I didn't know that. I guess that's a topic for the Hotel-based timeshare board.

Well, I have to say I am surprised that you cancelled based on not many negative comments against the amount of vacationers that use it.
The resort is large, but its also quiet, as its set out as villages. The resorts ameinities are accessable without a car, there is an internal shuttle bus service.
I have never heard personally of any dirty units, nor ever seen them.
But it's your option.

I've never experienced a filthy unit with dead bugs either. And that's talking about over 50 stays at this resort.

But certainly I have read others saying they did in fact check into a dirty unit. No excuse for that. If I did check into a unit as described in this thread...I would call housekeeping to get it re-cleaned. Period. And that goes for OL or any other TS or hotel room. Would it stop me from ever going back to said hotel or TS if that was the only thing that was wrong....nooooo. But that's just us.

I didn't post this to put a damper on others plans, but just as a caution - it can happen... and does happen... I wasn't there so I can only hope this is not the norm but in a large resort... they were very unhappy but after calling three times to get someone to come clean... they decided they didn't want to spend any more of their vacation time trying to get it resolved. I agree - I would have gone up the ladder until it was done, but as I said, I wasn't there... but I would like to see this remedied. I know it's hard to get cleaning follks sometimes, but there need to be some sort of controls to make sure they are doing their jobs and to fix it quickly when mistakes are made. I don't know if it would stop me from going there because I'm hoping it is not the norm.

For me, it would depend on when I was calling - if it was check-day, I wouldn't expect the cleaning crew to be at my room as quickly, because they are busy cleaning all the units being turned over that day. In fact, if it were check-in day at a large resort, I would simply request a different unit (and yes, I understand that passes the buck to some other family, but perhaps the cleaning crew can get back there before that family checks in).

The dust game them the sense that the unit hadn't been used in a while - that's quite possible, and might even explain why it wasn't properly cleaned. They probably maintain a list of units to clean as people check out, not as they check in. Meaning if the unit sat empty for 2 months for whatever reason, it also wasn't cleaned again for that length of time. At least the cockroaches were dead, and not crawling around - still gross, but a good sign nonetheless.

Just back from OLCC. What bugs??????

I was just there with two guys and four women. Not one of our guests complained about anything. The unit was very comfortable and we experienced nothing that could deter from our vacation. Four women and not one complaint!

At least the cockroaches were dead, and not crawling around - still gross, but a good sign nonetheless.[/quote]

LOL - that's exactly what my son said

I have no ties to OLCC at all, but have stayed there three different times over the last 8 years (different accounts). In all three cases I was quite satisfied with the cleanliness (and everything else, except the sales attempt) of the resort. I guess any place can let something slip through the cracks, but we had no problems of any sort.

Non-owner reporting here.

My history goes back twenty years, OL being our first tour, and four tours and several exchanges since, we have never had a dirty unit.

However, on independent sites like Tripadvisor, where some of the guests have a high level of expectation because some of them are accustomed to hotel-style lodging , cleanliness is probably the biggest complaint (or maybe service). Of course, we timesharers are accusotmed to there not being service just about anywhere we go.

Let's face it, the level of service we have experienced at OL, and most other timeshare resorts is, "Here's your key."

One of the complaints from our extended family is having to do laundry, make beds, clean up after themselves, but you know how this lazy younger generation is! They would rather stay on Disney property and have someone taking care of their every needs.

I have hiked off the beaten path at OL and I have been disappointed by how filthy the nature areas have been.

It is a big place and in big places sometimes no individual has to take personal responsibility, stuff getting left for the next person to do. Last Christmas week there was stuff on the walkway and stairways of our EV building, and no one bothered to clean it up all week. The little lakes and nature areas were all very trashy. I would think every now and then someone could clean those areas up.

A few thousand people every week generates a lot of trash.

As an owner, I would request that anyone staying at OLCC that experiences problems with the cleanliness or service (not over having to make your own bed, obviously, but response times when you request someone from maintenance), please let the resort know. Use the comment forms/cards - I don't mean the ones you send to RCI, the people who need to know will probably never see those.

The only way the staff will know they need to do a better job is to be told. The owners can try to pass this information on to our HOA members as well, but the more they hear about details, the better.

At any resort, if I see something that stands out in either a positive or negative way, I try to write out what it was, rather than simply give poor ratings. It's kind of like our resort ratings - they don't mean that much if you don't know what caused the poor rating, and it's also harder to fix.

Just as a note to future RCI exchangers, RCI calls all villages except River Island "West Village". This would include North and East Village. So just because you are exchanging into "West Village", does not mean you will actually be in that village.

borntotravel said:

Just as a note to future RCI exchangers, RCI calls all villages except River Island "West Village". This would include North and East Village. So just because you are exchanging into "West Village", does not mean you will actually be in that village.

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For the moment. It has been reported that in 2009, each section will be using the proper designation so a reservation for the West Village in 2009 will actually be the original West Village. Likewise, reservation can be made for the North or East Village and that is where you will be staying.

Owner here and I have had good luck with using our unit and exchanging into another unit.

It is a large mega resort which offers some advantages and disadvantages.

I would say that if you got a unit that has problems and it needs fixing, call and keep calling till resolved. I am sure that turnover of personnel is an issue with OL in housekeeping.

I believe that some of our experience (actually what we have observed the experiences of others to be) has been tainted by the fact that we have been there during very busy weeks, weeks when they are fully booked, if that is ever possible.

Two times ago it was actually overbooked because OL was the main resort that hurricane cancellations got rebooked into. That week there simply was no room at the inn and folks were finding that out when they tried to check in.

It was pretty ugly, with a very long problem line. Some were given a unit for the first night, which they had to pay for, to give RCI a chance to find something else for the rest of the week. But when that ran out, folks were just turned away.

and shame on RCI for putting members and OL in such a horrible situation.

I would have hated to be the RCI onsite employee that day!